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Informationen zum Autor William O. Beeman is Professor of Anthropology and Director of Middle East Studies at Brown University. He has lived and conducted research for over 30 years in all areas of the Middle East. He has served as a consultant to the U.S. State Department and the Department of Defense, and has testified before Congress on Middle Eastern affairs. He is the President-Elect of the Middle East Section of the American Anthropological Association (2005-2006) and will serve as President from autumn 2006 until 2008, then as Outgoing President from 2008 to 2009. Klappentext The United States and Iran have been estranged for 25 years. They have carried out a mutual process of demonization that is unprecedented in modern history, based on cultural hot buttons that have the power to galvanize the populations of both countries. Iranian leaders have characterized the United States as the Great Satan-an evil corruptor that pollutes society and destroys personal morality. American leaders characterize the members of the current government of the Islamic Republic of Iran as Mad Mullahs, wild-eyed and irrational. Giving a thorough account of the background of U.S.-Iranian relations, Beeman claims that the current accusations of both Iran and the United States are baseless, consisting largely of public invective and symbolic rhetoric according to their own mythologies of evil. American leaders characterize the members of the current government of the Islamic Republic of Iran as Mad Mullahs, wild-eyed and irrational. They accuse them of fomenting the hostage crisis, in which American embassy personnel were held for 444 days at the end of the Carter administration, dealing a severe blow to U.S. national honor. The Bush administration has further accused the Iranians of being part of an Axis of Evil on the basis of their alleged support of terrorists, oppression of women and minorities, and development of nuclear weapons. Giving a thorough account of the background of U.S.-Iranian relations, Beeman claims that the current accusations of both Iran and the United States are baseless, consisting largely of public invective and symbolic rhetoric according to their own mythologies of evil. Zusammenfassung Exposes the hostile U.S.-Iranian relationship as the result of a pervasive yet unnecessary mutual demonization! full of vengeful myth mongering and retribution for past injuries! not the result of an actual mutual threat. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction: Discourse and Demonization American Myths Middle Eastern Myths Discourse and Rhetoric Images of the Great Satan Images of the Mad Mullah The Framework of U.S. Iranian Relations The Sins of the United States The Sins of Iran The Birth of Post-modern Conflict: How Iranian Media Came of Age Living with Iran: Resistance as Post-modern Discourse ...
